Urban street mapping using quickbird and ikonos images

This article addresses the problem of urban street mapping from new high resolution satellite images. The proposed algorithm is divided in two sequential modules: a topologically correct graph of the street network is first extracted, and streets are then extracted as surface elements. The graph of the network is extracted by a following algorithm which minimizes a cost function. The surface extraction algorithm makes use of specific active contours (snakes) combined with a multiresolution analysis (MRA) for minimizing the problem of noise. This reconstruction phase is composed of two steps: the extraction of street segments and the extraction of street intersections. Results of the street network extraction are presented on Quickbird and Ikonos images. Future prospects are also exposed.